KNOXVILLE - Tennessee soon could make more changes to its football coaching staff.
In what's been a poorly kept secret in recent weeks, former Michigan coach Brady Hoke is expected to join the Volunteers as their defensive line coach, and an official announcement could come some time this week.
Hoke was 78-70 in four seasons with the Wolverines following coaching stints at Ball State and San Diego State, and he spent the 2016 season as Oregon's defensive coordinator.
During his year away from coaching in 2015, Hoke spent a couple days in Knoxville visiting with the Vols, attending at least one spring practice, and the first two years of his Michigan tenure coincided with Vols' top football administrator Mike Vollmar's time in a similar role with the Wolverines.
Current defensive line coach Steve Stripling, who spent the past eight seasons as one of Butch Jones's top assistant coaches at Central Michigan, Cincinnati and Tennessee, is expected to move into another role within the football program.
The 63-year-old veteran coach is well-respected by Tennessee's players, but his contract was set to expire this month. Stripling's salary in 2016 was $405,000, while Hoke made $400,000 at Oregon in the first year of an original three-year, $1.8 million deal set to pay him $700,000 in 2017 and 2018.
Defensive linemen accounted for all but three of Tennessee's 30 sacks and 55.5 of the team's 100 tackles for loss in 2016, but the Vols will have to replace All-American Derek Barnett and two productive seniors in Corey Vereen and LaTroy Lewis next season.
Hoke coached the defensive lines at Grand Valley State (1983), Western Michigan (1984-86), Oregon State (1989-94) and Michigan (1995-2002) before his three head coaching stops.
In his sixth season at Ball State, the Cardinals went undefeated during the regular season and rose to No. 12 in the Associated Press poll before losing in the Mid-American Conference championship game.
Two years after he was named the MAC coach of the year, Hoke was the Mountain West coach of the year for guiding San Diego State to a nine-win season in 2010.
Michigan went 11-2 and beat Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl during Hoke's first season, but he won eight, seven and five games in the following three seasons leading to his ouster.
His recruiting classes - ranked 21st, seventh, fifth and 31st nationally according to Rivals.com - didn't leave the cupboard bare for successor Jim Harbaugh, who is 20-6 in two seasons in Ann Arbor with many of Hoke's players.
Michigan's starting quarterback (Wilton Speight), leading rusher (De'Veon Smith), top three receivers (wideouts Amara Darboh and Jehu Chesson and tight end Jake Butt) and defensive stars (defensive backs Jabrill Peppers and Jourdan Lewis, defensive lineman Taco Charlton and linebackers Ben Gedeon and Mike McCray) this season were Hoke's recruits.
After finishing 11th in the Southeastern Conference in total defense in their first season under defensive coordinator Bob Shoop, the Vols already made one defensive staff change this offseason with Charlton Warren replacing Willie Martinez as defensive backs coach.
On offense, Jones opted to promote tight ends coach Larry Scott to offensive coordinator and hire Mike Canales as quarterbacks coach after offensive coordinator Mike DeBord took Indiana's offer instead of stepping into retirement.
The Vols may make one more change on that side of the ball, too, with offensive line coach Don Mahoney also nearing the end of his contract.
If Jones decides to make a change there, he likely then would promote quality control coach Walt Wells, the former offensive line coach at South Florida, New Mexico State and Western Kentucky who was in the mix for the same position at South Carolina earlier this offseason.
The Vols took Wells on the road to recruit while it had a vacancy following DeBord's departure.
Wells played at Austin Peay and earned his bachelor's degree at Belmont before starting his coaching career at Smyrna High School in the Murfreesboro area and Cumberland University in Lebanon, and his ties to the midstate make him an intriguing option for in-state recruiting.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.